All you need to know about the Hurtigruten's Viking Voyage

Norway-based expedition leader launched a special Viking cruise experience, which will include an onboard medieval history expert and excursions. Picture: Supplied.

Global leaders in exploration travel, Hurtigruten, have announced a special Voyage of the Vikings sailing on 13 October 2019.

The special-interest cruise will be joined by Dr John Haywood, an expert in medieval and maritime history, as well as include three excursions that reveal the culture and history of this one-powerful seafaring nation.

Included in this return-trip sailing from Bergen in Norway are a visit to the Lofotr Viking Museum for a traditional dinner and performance and a taste of Vesteralen excursions, including a journey to the medieval Trondenes Church outside Harstad, among several other opportunities to enjoy additional excursions like dog-sledding and snowshoeing.

The special-interest cruise follows the same route that is widely touted as the world’s most scenic sea voyage, taking guests from the World Heritage city of Bergen to Kirkenes on the Russian boarder and back, through such scenic highlights as Kristiansund, the Lofoten Peninsula and Norway’s famed Seven Sisters mountain range.

Dr John Haywood, who studied medieval history at the universities of Lancaster, Cambridge and Copenhagen and has written over 20 books, will give a range of interesting Viking lectures during the sailing, including such topics as the Vikings and their gods, the Viking warrior and the Viking North Atlantic Saga.

The cruise will also coincide with the Northern Lights season, with Norway being one of the best places on earth to witness this natural phenomenon.

So confident is Hurtigruten that guests will see the Northern Lights on their 12-day voyage, that they offer a Northern Lights Promise, through which guests receive a further six- or seven-day Classic Voyage free if they fail to see the Northern Lights during the full 12-day return voyage.